Magic of Children in the Arts

Download BrochureMagic of Children in the Arts 2012

March 3-31 2012

Collingwood Public Library

Drop Artwork off Sat Feb 25 10am to 3pm

or Sunday Feb Feb 26 1pm-3pm

ALL children in the Collingwood and Clearview area are invited to participate in the upcoming Magic of Children in the Arts Show. Download the Brochure for complete information and registration.

Who we are

The Magic of Children in the Arts was started in 1994 by local artist Lory MacDonald. With the help of parent volunteers, and generous support from local businesses and community groups, it evolved into an annual event at the Collingwood Public Library.

Our mission is to inspire and encourage children to create, exhibit and celebrate the arts. The result is a spectacular display of over 300 artworks created by children from our community.

The show is juried by professional artists, and EACH child receives a positive comment and a prize of art materials. The celebration is highlighted by an awards presentation.

A strong partnership exists between us and the arts community, schools, Collingwood Public Library, local businesses, community groups, the Town of Collingwood, Clearview Township, parents and volunteers.

We are a registered charitable organization. All funds raised go towards putting on this great show, and the prizes of art materials. Please consider making a donation to this worthwhile event and arts programming.

Buy ART for Christmas

One of the reasons I look forward to Christmas, is giving presents. I love making creative things for my family and friends. I have been doing this most of my life. These types of gifts are treasured and anticipated...so they say!

So I am encouraging everyone to buy or make ART for Christmas, instead of shopping at the mall. Shop from your favorite Artist, Art & Craft Show, or Gallery. Every sale for an artist is exhilerating and motivating.

This year, I created a Toronto Island Monopoly Game. It was so much fun designing it, figuring out the play, and writing all the community cards. I changed the look, the play and and the names so no copyright issues would be infringed. Everyone loved it at the Christmas Boutique. It was a huge amount work, but so worth it to bring such joy to so many islanders.

The most exciting component added was the Time Travelling Portal. This square allows you to go back in time to Centre Island & Hanlans Point, when it was a thriving part of the Island. You can purchase property there as well. One of the main changes to the play of the game is you do not buy or build houses or hotels. You buy a Lease.

Steve Jobs- an inspiration for creativity

We lost a creative genius last night, as Steve Jobs passed away. Being an artist, tapping into a creative stream and turning it into something tangible is what keeps us fulfilled, stimulated, scared, excited and in the end earns our income. I see a parallel in Steve Jobs creativity and an artists creativity. It is the spark that is generated when you uncover or discover a nugget of creativity, that fuels my joy in being an artist and keeps me forging ahead. Fearlessly.

"Stay hungry. Stay foolish." a quote from Steve Jobs

Thank you Steve, for all you gave us.

Fall Classes 2011

The fall session of creative arts classes for women started today. It was great to see everyone again after a wonderful summer break. All of us came back refreshed and full of determination to exercise our creative muscles.

We have decided to participate in the Sketch Book Project 2012. The deadline to sign up is Oct 31 2011. Our books will be completed by January 31 2012. The books go on tour in April.

All of us are nervous about getting it finished, but if we work on it every week and help motivate each other, it should be a lot of fun.

Here is the link if you want to try it.

http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject/resources

New Website

Welcome to my new website. This project has been in my head for a long long time. I had wanted to build the site myself, so I could add and manage it on my own. I read countless books and articles on how to do it. I had input and coaching from friends and collegues. But I was stumped on how to make it all work- as I have many artsy things going on.

By chance I bumped into Shane Durnford, a very talented designer who has set up a great system for branding and building affordable websites that don't look like templates and are easy to manage. So voila, it is done.

I am currently adding in content of my paintings, custom theme portraits, prints , teaching, and the relaunch of the message in a bottle.